906 - Daryl Hall & John Oates, Steven Page, Brandi Carlile and the greatest debut albums ever!
Famous Lost WordsShow Notes
In what can only be described as a hell of a coincidence, this week we feature a series of clips with Daryl Hall & John Oates. These are particularly interesting in light of the news of Daryl suing John, and even asking for a restraining order against his old friend and bandmate. First up is both guys from 1981, around the time of the “Voices” album. Then about a year later in ’82, it’s Daryl Hall talking to us about the H20 album. And then for our podcast listeners there’s some bonus content – it’s Tom’s 2018 interview with John Oates. In which John talks about how he and Daryl bonded over their love of music. John also tells the story behind the hit “Maneater” in which he explains that the maneater isn’t about a woman, it’s about a city. After Hall & Oates, we’ll chat with Steven Page, formerly of Barenaked Ladies and now a member of the very quirky new Canadian supergroup the Trans-Canada Highwaymen. Their new album is a bit surprising on a number of levels. We’ll talk about that plus some of Steven’s favourite memories of his time with Barenaked Ladies (including his reunion with BNL at the Juno Awards). Then, we have a hidden gem from the FLW archives – so hidden that we didn’t even know it existed until we discovered a few days ago! It’s a 2007 interview with the wonderful Brandi Carlile. It’s great to capture a moment in time from when an artist is first starting out. Brandi is so candid and refreshing in this early-career chat. Plus, Christopher and Tom argue about the greatest debut albums ever. Tom is impressed by Christopher’s choices, while Christopher is mortified by Tom’s! Famous Lost Words, hosted by Christopher Ward and Tom Jokic, is heard in more than 100 countries worldwide and on radio stations across Canada, including Newstalk 1010 Toronto, CJAD 800 Montreal, 580 CFRA Ottawa, AM 800 CKLW Windsor, 610 CKTB St Catharines, CFAX Victoria, AM1150 Kelowna and 91x in Belleville. It is in the Top 20% of worldwide podcasts based on the number of listeners in the first week.
More from Famous Lost Words
What is the most misunderstood song ever? Born In The USA? Every Breath You Take? The Macarena? Christopher and Tom reveal their top picks. We have a wide range of artists this week! First up is Rush – who have recently experienced an incredible renaissance in terms of popularity and respect. Tom talks about seeing their current tour, then we’ll hear from Geddy Lee in 1984 as he and the band deal with the enormous success from the previous few years. Glenn Frey struggled to find his footing after the dissolution of The Eagles. But in August of 1985, Glenn was in a good place – and this interview reflects his success and optimism. Sade broke out in 1984 and went on to record some of the coolest music of that decade. We have a short clip from her as she speaks about songwriting. Then we close out the show with ZZ Top – just as they were about to conquer the charts with “Eliminator”. It’s a chat with Billy Gibbons from 1983. Famous Lost Words, hosted by Christopher Ward and Tom Jokic, is heard in more than 100 countries worldwide and on radio stations across Canada, including Newstalk 1010 Toronto, CJAD 800 Montreal, 580 CFRA Ottawa, AM 800 CKLW Windsor, 610 CKTB St Catharines, CFAX Victoria and 91x in Belleville. It is in the Top 15% of worldwide podcasts based on the number of listeners in the first week.
Today, we start something new! It’s called FLW Hits. A series of shorter episodes that focus specifically on the stories behind some of the biggest hit songs ever recorded. For this episode, we start with the most memorable riff and song of George Michael’s career as he tells us about the creation of Careless Whisper. When Christopher interviewed Tina Turner in 1989, she told him how she shaped the sound of one of her biggest hits, “The Best”. Then we have one of the best protest songs ever as Stephen Stills explains to Tom the inspiration of the Buffalo Springfield song “For What It’s Worth”.
Christopher and Tom kick off season 12 trying to choose the greatest musician of all time. Names like Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Prince and Robbie Williams (?!) come up, but Christopher has a choice that doesn’t include any of the aforementioned. Then, we feature Christopher’s 1989 interview with Paul McCartney. It’s a great conversation as Paul comes to terms with his back catalogue and gives us the story behind some of his biggest Beatles hits. We will also discuss Macca’s burst of creativity in recent months. Plus Cool Beatles Facts – including the real story behind John & Paul’s supposed "feud". With the recent shocking loss of singer Sass Jordan, we revisit our chat with Sass from 2018 and talk about her career and legacy. Plus we have an excellent interview with David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & Tears, who passed away recently at the age of 84. Famous Lost Words, hosted by Christopher Ward and Tom Jokic, is heard in more than 100 countries worldwide and on radio stations across Canada, including Newstalk 1010 Toronto, CJAD 800 Montreal, 580 CFRA Ottawa, AM 800 CKLW Windsor, 610 CKTB St Catharines, CFAX Victoria and 91x in Belleville. It is in the Top 20% of worldwide podcasts based on the number of listeners in the first week.
Season 12 of Famous Lost Words is just days away. We’re back with the likes of Elton John, Chicago, Rick James, Pearl Jam, and The Tragically Hip. We start things off with Christopher’s epic 1989 conversation with Paul McCartney, one of the most in depth interviews you’ll ever hear. Plus we have a wildly entertaining visit with the irrepressible Lionel Richie as he shares stories from his entire career. We also have our very first NON-MUSICAL episode – featuring Hugh Grant, Mike Myers, Martin Short and Tom’s interview with Pamela Anderson. Christopher and Tom will argue about the best album from 50 years ago… and the greatest musician of all time. But we also have a big announcement... Coming soon to the Famous Lost Words podcast feed, a brand new series called FLW Hits – where will drill down on the stories behind the greatest songs ever made. Same guys. Same archives. Shorter episodes. And once in awhile we will bring in a special guest to help us out. And of course, we will hear from the artists themselves. That’s FLW Hits And season 12 of Famous Lost Words Just days away
We lost one of the greats with the passing of Neil Sedaka. The songs, like “Calendar Girl”, “Love Will Keep Us Together”, “Oh! Carol” and “Breaking Up is Hard to Do” are so recognizable and the melodies so deceptively simple, it’s like they’ve always been with us. And if you’ve ever heard Sedaka being interviewed, you can’t miss the joy and passion that he had for the work. For this special tribute, we have 3 sets of interview clips from one of the top songwriters of his era. Neil remembers his earliest hits with the late Andy K of 1050 CHUM in Toronto. He also tells CHUM's Roger Ashby about the challenges he faced in his career. And we even hear from Elton John, who helped facilitate Sedaka's comeback with songs like "Bad Blood" and "Laughter In The Rain". Neil Sedaka continued to perform as recently as 2025. His legacy of songs as a writer and performer will always be with us.